DEALS

Letters

Published: May 3, 2013

Gore the ox The two headlines on page 8 of Monday’s Tribune (“Dozens of air shows canceled after cash-strapped military grounds its jets” and “Army says no more tanks, but Congress insists”) are a perfect example of the Alice in Wonderland machinations of Congress.

I agree that the use of jets for air shows sounds frivolous even though it generates money for local economies. I also agree that areas that manufacture parts for the Abrams tanks should be concerned about the loss of jobs even though the tanks are not needed or wanted by the Army.

Someone’s ox has to be gored and Congress must decide whose it must be — politics be damned.

Marilyn B. Signer

Lakeland

Gay player The TV talk panel was extolling the professional basketball player who came out as gay for setting the bar so most professional athletes can come out. Clearly they share a liberal belief that the majority of people in the United States are homosexuals. We believe gays are a very small, confused minority and are the wrong role models for our impressionable youths and do not have a place in professional sports viewed by young children.

Let us begin extolling the virtues of the real heroes. These are the responsible family leaders who have to go to work every day, support the family, pay taxes, place the welfare and future of their children above all else. We are for live and let live. We oppose the media trying to change the mores of society to please a small minority.

Lou Christodoulou

Apollo Beach

Missed opportunity Last week we welcomed the opening of the George Walker Bush presidential library. A tour of this historical trove of information, presents an opportunity to “second guess” President Bush’s decisions.

Immediately after the 2001 terrorist attacks, the world sympathized with our anguish. We can question, but will never know what our standing in the world would be today if instead of attacking Iraq, President Bush had asked countries “Can we work together to eradicate the sleeper al-Qaida cells in your countries before you too suffer the same tragedy?

During the 2000 primaries, Bush displayed a strong conviction to attack Iraq. When Iraq or Hussein were mentioned, he emphatically stated, “He tried to assassinate my dad.” The day before Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations to “expose” Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, several articles in The Tampa Tribune affirmed that we had shaky intelligence.

It was reported that often President Bush would state “Look at Iraq, Look at Hussein” and eventually some of the intelligence reports were changed to give the president what he wanted. Immediately prior to our Iraq invasion, Gen. Anthony Zinni stated, “It is ironic that those who have never fired a shot or felt the heat of battle are of a different opinion than the generals.”

As a career Airman (1959-1979) I totally agree that our mission to destroy al-Qaida training sites in Afghanistan was exact and justified. In retrospect, probably because of our president’s blind ambition, we missed a great opportunity to rid the world community of terrorist cells. The tragic decision divided us, cost us thousands of lives, millions in dollars, and burdened us with a war-monger reputation.

After a long run in the Tampa Tribune sports department, Joe Henderson now shares his thoughts on the people and places that make up daily life in our city.

Tom Jackson

Tom Jackson’s baseball card — if he had one — would report he throws left, writes right. In his columns and blog, “The Right Stuff,” southpaw Jackson provides insight into the evolving human condition from a distinctly conservative point of view.Column | Blog